Car Interiors - Good Enough or Strange Fetish?

[0a]

Reading car magazine, I was struck yet again by their mild addiction to reviewing car interiors. I've been in and driven cars from a Lada to the s class mercs booked to get me home, M cars and audis (VWs/seats etc). To be honest in terms of the dashboard, the "dump car" (mk1 focus) is fine in terms of build for a normal car.

I'd agree a luxury car (7 series) is different, but marking a golf up against a focus, for example? So long as they both work, I couldn't care less.

[Piepiepie]

I get pissed off with dashboards that slope down too much/too early. Ford have a habit of doing this. The old focus is horrible to drive as it is, let alone it having a st dash.

Favourite dashboard for me was the Vectra C. Came up nice and high, with a massive shelf before you got to the windscreen.

[rockandrollmark]

Piepiepie said:

I get pissed off with dashboards that slope down too much/too early. Ford have a habit of doing this. The old focus is horrible to drive as it is, let alone it having a st dash.

Favourite dashboard for me was the Vectra C. Came up nice and high, with a massive shelf before you got to the windscreen.

Not sure I agree with there chap. The Mk1 Focus is a fantastic car to drive with it's trick suspension, and holding the Vectra C as the last word in dashboard design... really?

[DukeDickson]

0a said:

Reading car magazine, I was struck yet again by their mild addiction to reviewing car interiors. I've been in and driven cars from a Lada to the s class mercs booked to get me home, M cars and audis (VWs/seats etc). To be honest in terms of the dashboard, the "dump car" (mk1 focus) is fine in terms of build for a normal car.

I'd agree a luxury car (7 series) is different, but marking a golf up against a focus, for example? So long as they both work, I couldn't care less.

With you on this one. However, the right font and some rubbery plastics would seem to be crucial to many Never mind that said rubber can easily look somewhat weathered after not that much usage - 'tis soft, so must be superior.
My Mk2 Focus is apparently horrid & plasticky and has less than desirable build quality, However, the bits you actually touch with any regularity are perfectly fine and as a new entrant to the six figure mileage club, the interior is holding up remarkably well. Aside from the odd mark from the steering lock, the only evidence of that hammer is a slight bit of fraying on the seat bolster. Not bad IMHO given that bolster glitch is the result of being attacked by a 100kg+ less than careful occupant.


On the German front, I've seen cars with significantly less miles sat on a dealer forecourt with touchy-feely interiors that look remarkably tired.



As long as it isn't seriously cack, I'm not sure how it matters that much, unless you're dropping a good level of folding.

[Piepiepie]

rockandrollmark said:

Not sure I agree with there chap. The Mk1 Focus is a fantastic car to drive with it's trick suspension, and holding the Vectra C as the last word in dashboard design... really?

Hell yeah, it beats this all day long;

[TheEnd]

Piepiepie said:

Hell yeah, it beats this all day long;

[Pommygranite]

I was pretty much put off a Lexus IS due to the crappy digital clock and gear selector design. So close to being 'quite nice' and then felt like I was in a 1985 Toyota Crown

[sat1983]

I don't get the whole interior build quality on most cars these days. They all seem ok to me. The only thing I'd say is that (logically) if the interior is more 'rubberised' it tends not to squeak whereas more plasticky interiors will tend to squeak more.

Eg a Lupo I used to own was the plastickiest interiors I'd ever seen as it squeaked like mad. God knows why the mags at the time thought the Lupo was so well built.

Toyota corolla of the same vintage has no issues- to this day. The dashboard is made of soft plastic.

[PumpkinSteve]

I have a slight fetish for rubberised interiors, I love the new Fords with their Dolphin skin dashboards. I never used to be bothered about it until I actually thought about how much time I spend inside the car compared to outside admiring the exterior, now I get great enjoyment from stroking my dash